Livingston, Montana
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Livingston is a city and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Park County,
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040.


History

The founding of the small historical railroad and ranching town of Livingston is a direct result of the
Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
(NPR). This site became a centralized point in the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
and the NPR's location for railroad shops to service their steam trains before ascending the Bozeman Pass, the line's highest point, located immediately west. Livingston also became the first gateway town to America's first national park, Yellowstone, which the NPR promoted heavily to visitors from the East. The NPR also operated a branch line running 50 miles south through Paradise Valley, first to Cinnabar station and later to Yellowstone's north entrance in Gardiner.


Clark City

Downstream the Yellowstone River, about 3 miles from present-day Livingston, an old fisherman named Amos Benson built a log cabin in 1872. This is where a ferry, a trading post and a small community called Benson's Landing were located. Across the river from Benson's Landing in June 1882 was the camp of about 40 tents of the Northern Pacific survey crew. This is where they thought the supply store site they were looking for should be. On July 14, 1882, a man who worked for the Northern Pacific named Joseph J. McBride arrived with orders to find another site to build the store. On July 16, George H. Carver, who became a major local businessman and political leader, arrived at the site of present-day Livingston. Carver and McBride became the first local residents when they pitched their tents on the 16th. Also on the 16th arrived 30 freight wagons drawn by 140 oxen, carrying 140,000 lbs. of merchandise. The supply store was to be of Bruns and Kruntz, contractors. Eventually, the tents gave way to log cabins. All of Benson's Landing encampment moved up the river to Carver and McBride's camp within 10 days of the train's arrival. This new settlement was called "Clark City" after Heman Clark, the principal contractor for the Northern Pacific from the Missouri westward. By fall, the town was well established and a November 1882 poll counted 348 votes for delegates to congress. Clark City was on the southeast side at the East end of Lewis St. just southwest of the KPRK, and is now part of Livingston. B.F. Downen built the first permanent residence (out of wood) and Frank White owned the first saloon. Clark City eventually had 6 general stores, 2 hotels, 2 restaurants, 2 watchmakers, 2 wholesale liquor dealers, 2 meat markets, 3 blacksmiths, 1 hardware store, 30 saloons and a population of 500. As Clark City was growing, nobody realized that the Northern Pacific had marked on its maps a town called Livingston at the same place. The railroad officially reached Clark City on November 22, 1882. In October 1882 a post office was chartered for Clark City. In November, Livingston received its charter. That was when it was decided that Livingston be located a short distance away. Then Clark City residents bought lots in Livingston and moved. The birth of Livingston was the death of Clark City. The walking distance between them was considerable and Clark City became stream-and-bog urban wildland. Very few buildings still remain.


Incorporation

On December 21, 1882, Livingston was incorporated and named in honor of Johnston Livingston, pioneer Northern Pacific Railway stockholder, director and friend of Northern Pacific Railroad President Henry Villard. Johnston Livingston was director from 1875 to 1881 and 1884–1887. Crawford Livingston Jr., Johnston's nephew, is more commonly considered the town's namesake. Crawford bought the real estate after the survey and on July 17, 1883, established the First National Bank in the city. Often he spoke of Livingston as "his town," and he apparently enjoyed the publicity of supposedly having a city named for him. But the name Livingston has always stood out in the Northern Pacific official family. Livingston is along the Yellowstone River, where it bends from north to east toward Billings and in proximity to Interstate 90. In July 1806 Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on the city's present outskirts on the return trip east preparing to descend the Yellowstone River. Clark's party rejoined the Lewis party at the confluence with the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
, near Williston, North Dakota.


Attractions

Although small, Livingston has a number of popular tourist attractions. The Livingston Depot, built in 1902 after two predecessors, is a restored rail station that houses a railroad museum open from May to September. The Yellowstone Gateway Museum documents regional history from one of the oldest North American archaeological sites to Wild Western and Yellowstone history. The International Fly Fishing Federation's museum is an extensive introduction to a popular game sport and hosts annual enthusiast meetings. The city was inhabited for two decades by Calamity Jane and visited by a number of traveling members of European royalty. In 1938, Dan Bailey, an eastern fly-fisherman, established Dan Bailey's Fly Shop and mail order fly tying business on Park Street. Also in Livingston is the Fly Fishing Discovery Center, a museum operated by the Federation of Fly Fishers. Actors Peter Fonda and Margot Kidder,
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
alumnus Rich Hall, musician Ron Strykert, novelist Walter Kirn, and poet Jim Harrison have lived in the city.
Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...
mentions Livingston in multiple songs. Its economy is flat, and like the rest of the state, the unemployment rate is below the national average. Recently the city has invested in attractions and accommodation for tourists visiting during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years. Livingston and its immediately adjacent area has 17 sites listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, enumerated within Park County's NRHP listings. It has a
sister-city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
relationship with Naganohara,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. File:LivingstonMontana1883-Plat.jpg, Plat of Livingston, 1883 File:LivingstonMontana1884.JPG, Gateway to Yellowstone, Frank Jay Haynes, 1884 File:LivingstonMontanaNPPRDepot-Haynes1894.jpg, Second Livingston NPRR Depot, 1894 File:Livingston MT 02.jpg, Residential neighborhood File:Firehall Fitness Center Livingston Montana.jpg, Fire station reincarnated as fitness center


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Livingston has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. Livingston has some of the warmest winters in the state, but the temperature can feel cold because Livingston is also one of the windiest places in the United States, having the 2nd highest average wind speed among airport/AMOS stations from 2000 to 2010, after Guadalupe Pass, a highway station near Pine Springs, Texas.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 7,044 people, 3,356 households, and 1,744 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 3,779 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.1%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.8% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population. There were 3,356 households, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.0% were non-families. 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age in the city was 41.1 years. 21% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.3% were from 25 to 44; 28.9% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.


2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 6,851 people, 3,084 households and 1,751 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,360 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.39% White, 0.31% African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.16% of the population. There were 3,084 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.86. Age distribution was 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The
median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
was $28,980, and the median family income was $40,505. Males had a median income of $26,619 versus $18,684 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,636. About 5.6% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

A railroad city until the mid-1980s, the city today depends significantly on tourism. The Federation of Fly Fishers is based in Livingston. According to Livingston's Fiscal Year 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top private employers in Park County (the city's website refers to approximately a hundred public employees) are:


Education

The CDP is almost entirely in the Livingston Elementary School District. The CDP slightly extends into the Pine Creek Elementary School District. All of the CDP is in the Park High School District.
Text list
/ref> Both Livingston Elementary School District and Park High School District are components of Livingston Public Schools. Livingston Public Schools educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Park High School's team name is the Rangers. Livingston has a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
, the Livingston-Park County Public Library.


Infrastructure

Mission Field is a public use airport located five miles east of town. Intercity bus service to the city is provided by
Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...
.


Media


Newspapers

'' Livingston Enterprise'' is a local daily newspaper. The monthly ''Montana Pioneer'' and bimonthly ''Atlantis Rising'' are also Livingston-based.


AM radio

* KBOZ 1090, ( Talk/personality), Reier Broadcasting Company * KOBB 1230, (
Sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
), Reier Broadcasting Company * KPRK AM 1340, ( Talk), GapWest Broadcasting * KMMS 1450, (
News News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...
/ talk), GapWest Broadcasting


FM radio

* KLEU 91.1, (Christian music/talk programming), Hi-Line Radio Fellowship * KGLT 91.9, ( Variety), Montana State University-Bozeman * KOBB-FM 93.7, (
Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...
), Reier Broadcasting Company * KMMS-FM 94.7, (Adult album), GapWest Broadcasting * KISN 96.7, ( Top 40 (CHR)), GapWest Broadcasting * KOZB 97.5, (
Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
), Reier Broadcasting Company * KBOZ-FM 99.9, (
Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
), Reier Broadcasting Company * KXLB 100.7, (Country music), GapWest Broadcasting * KBMC (FM) 102.1, (Variety), Montana State University-Billings * KZMY 103.5, (
Hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
), GapWest Broadcasting * KBZM 104.7, ( Classic hits), Orion Media * KSCY 106.9, (Country music), Orion Media


Television


Bozeman Market

* KTVM 6 NBC, Bonten Media Group * KBZK 7 CBS, Evening Post Publishing Company * KUSM 9 PBS, Montana State University


Billings Market

* KULR 8 NBC, Cowles Montana Media * KTVQ-TV 2 CBS, Evening Post Publishing Company


Filmography

The city of Livingston has been a staging area or location for a number of films, including: * '' Rancho Deluxe, 1975'' * '' Amazing Grace and Chuck, 1987'' * '' A River Runs Through It, 1992'' * '' The Horse Whisperer, 1998'' *
Cowboys vs. Dinosaurs, 2015
' * '' Certain Women'', 2016 * '' Walking Out'', 2017 * '' Wildlife (film)'', 2018 * '' Montana Story'', 2021


Set in Livingston

* ''
Yellowstone (American TV series) ''Yellowstone'' is an American Contemporary Western, neo-Western Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson for Paramount Network. The series premiered on June 20, 2018, and ended on December ...
'', 2018 continuing


Notable people

* Dan Bailey, renowned fly tyer and owner of Dan Bailey's Fly Shop * Arthur Blank, owner of Paradise Valley Pop Stand and Grill and Mountain Sky Guest Ranch * Ed Bouchee,
major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
first baseman *
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...
, television journalist * Tim Cahill, travel writer * Calamity Jane, cavalry scout, western heroine * Russell Chatham, landscape artist * Michael Dahlquist, drummer for the band Silkworm * Al Feldstein, comic artist and painter * Mayhew Foster,
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
pilot who transported
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
* Chad Franscoviak, sound engineer * Cassidy Freeman, actress * Eduardo Garcia, chef and businessman * Thomas Goltz, journalist and author * Rich Hall, comedian, writer and musician * Jim Harrison, poet and author ('' Legends of the Fall'') * Torey Hayden, psychologist and author *
William Hjortsberg William Reinhold "Gatz" Hjortsberg (February 23, 1941 – April 22, 2017) was an American novelist and screenwriter, who wrote the screenplay of the film ''Legend (1985 film), Legend''. His novel ''Falling Angel'' was the basis for the film ''An ...
, author and screenwriter ( Falling Angel, Legend (1985 film)) * Margot Kidder, actress * Walter Kirn, novelist * Thomas Leforge, mid-19th century liaison to and resident among the Crow Tribe * Pete Lovely, race car driver *
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...
, musician * Thomas McGuane, writer, novelist, film director, screenwriter * Ken Niles, radio announcer and actor (''
Out of the Past ''Out of the Past'' (billed in the United Kingdom as ''Build My Gallows High'') is a 1947 American film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Geoffrey Homes (Daniel ...
'') * Wendell Niles, radio announcer, actor * James F. O'Connor, United States Representative from Montana *
Christopher Paolini Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American and Italian author. He is best known for ''The Inheritance Cycle'', which consists of the books '' Eragon'' (2002), '' Eldest'' (2005), '' Brisingr'' (2008), ''Inheritance'' (2011 ...
, author of ''
The Inheritance Cycle ''The Inheritance Cycle'' is a tetralogy of young adult high fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini. Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia (), the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and ...
'' * Doug Peacock, author, grizzly bear expert. * Sam Peckinpah, film director; resided at the Murray Hotel from 1979 to 1984 * Lester Thurow, economist, author and
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...


References


External links


City of Livingston

Livingston Chamber of Commerce
- Information about the Livingston area
The Livingston Enterprise
- Daily newspaper
The Livingston Current
- Weekly newspaper
The Montana Pioneer
- Monthly newspaper
Arts Montana
- Community cultural links and arts events {{Authority control * Cities in Park County, Montana County seats in Montana Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Montana Territory Railway towns in Montana Cities in Montana